What is old is new again. Retro nameplates with new styling began surging back to the market just a few years ago, with vehicles like the Ford Bronco, Renault 5 and Fiat 500e picking up the mantle of decades-old nameplates and bringing them into the 21st century. While automakers tried to resurrect that retro class in the last decade with offerings like 2002 Ford Thunderbird and the 2010 PT Cruiser, this time around celebrating more retro vehicles seems to actually be working.
The Bronco is a hit for Ford, the Nissan Z is a fun zippy car that is actually affordable, and the Chevy Blazer, well, it continues to exist. But I think we, and by we, I mean Jalopnik, can do better. So I ask the question; what car do you think deserves to be brought back from the pages of history?
My pick: The Ford Ranchero
I was walking along Woodward the other day (the bit in the actual city where they don’t hold the Woodward Dream Cruise) and I saw a rare sight, even in the land of Detroit steel: a bright yellow old 2002 Ford Thunderbird. Was this a good car? Well, that depends on what kind of car exactly floats your boat and/or tickles your fancy. People back around the turn of the century liked it, at least, at first.
Our friends at MotorWeek gushed about the T-bird, peppering in plenty of flight and bird puns, which I will always appreciate. MotorTrend even named it the 2002 Car of the Year. However, it was pricy; with an MSRP of $35,695 (an eye-watering $65,298 in today’s dollars) and what did you get for that cash? Basically a Lincoln LS sedan without a luxury interior. Yawn. Plus it came with a V8 that only put out 280 horsepower, which proved a little too vintage for modern buyers’ tastes.
Thunderbirds in the ’50s and ’60s were kick-ass cars. I loved them when I was a kid, but now I’m older, more mature and there’s another bird-based Ford that steels my heart every time: the tiny, zippy and fierce Falcon. Now, Ford manufactured cars with the Falcon model name in Australia all the way up to 2016, so the idea is already a proven winner. The car was used by taxi services and in fleet sales and even as a Ute, but there were also spicy versions for enthusiasts to enjoy. Enough time has passed since Ford shuttered its down under operations to bring the nameplate home, I think.
Would Ford really roll the dice on bringing back sedans to its line up? Most definitely not. That’s why you don’t bring back the actual Falcon; you bring it back as an actual small, affordable truck as the Ranchero, something that can sit just beneath the Maverick and expound on that model’s popularity (another vintage nameplate reimagined for the new era.) Yes, Ford’s answer to the El Camino was actually Falcon based. Build it on Ford’s Universal EV Platform and you’d give that Slate startup a run for its money while providing a small, affordable truck to the masses.
